PREPARATION

Josh was visiting a new church and trying to stay unnoticed in the crowd of teenagers. The Pastor seemed young for his age; he wore a tee shirt and Birkenstocks. Toward the end of the worship he placed a giant jar on the stage and announced that it was time for a new approach to prayer requests. With those words a large number of volunteers began handing out blank index cards.

Josh took one and surprised himself by writing these words, "Save my Dad."

Then, he joined the crowd of kids who walked to the front and dropped folded private prayer cards into the giant very public jar. God was working a wonder in that unexpected experience. He does it all the time. I guess he does whatever is necessary to get our attention. And contrary to popular mythology he doesn’t want our attention for condemnation or judgment; he wants it for relationship, to draw us into his inner circle.

There is always a holy message in the unexpected. It’s an invitation to confess, to talk to the God who is always there. In these moments we are compelled to confess: "Now I see..." "Now I hear..." "Finally I understand..." "I am blown away by..." "I am so sorry for the way I take you for granted, for avoiding you, and especially for the times when I defiantly take-off on my own."

INSPIRATION

Josh’s dad, Val, met me at Starbucks. We ordered our Grande’s and sat in the corner cushioned chairs. "Tell me why we’re here," I began. "For most of my life, I have focused on me. I have done whatever I wanted to do whenever I wanted to do it. I’ve wasted too many years, to drunk to think. I’ve broken one relationship after another, spent money I didn’t have, lost myself in gambling, and lived in strip clubs and lap dance bars. Then a few years ago I tried my best to shoot the top of my head off, but the gun misfired."

"Sounds past tense, what’s changed?" I asked.

"Something totally unexpected, God got my attention. It happened when I looked in the mirror and nothing was there. It was as if I didn’t exist—no face, no hair, no nothing. It freaked me out, and no I wasn’t drunk. I haven’t had a drink in years. I think God was showing me how wasted my life had been, like I was missing in action. And, I got the message."

"What message?"

"I hadn’t cried in years, but that night, I cried." Val said, "I fell to my knees and confessed, 'God, I am so sorry. I have been such a mess-up.' In short, I gave ME to God. Surely he can do better with ME than I have done. And maybe I could get my face back."

"Your mirror event," I offered, "was a major unexpected moment, a holy in-your-face attention grabber (Pun intended). God is the master of the unexpected. And, I think he wants us to be like him, so we need to be a little more unexpected ourselves."

As we walked out the door I said, "Val, now you have a new part in his story, an unexpected part. So live like it."

MOTIVATION

When the unexpected happens this week...look for God in the surprise, listen for his voice, look for his presence and yield to his direction. Faith sees God in the unexpected moments. Oh, and I believe that this week may be the week when God wants you to be unexpected for him.

You may find this is your week to be the "mirror" God uses to send a totally unexpected message from the throne of heaven. So get off the couch and get ready!

When people expect spinning and stretching of the truth, be straightforward and honest.

When people expect harshness and cynicism, be compassionate and understanding.

When people expect judgment and punishment, be grace-filled and forgiving.

When people are struggling with broken dreams, be a listening ear and an angel of mercy.

When you see need and opportunity, be generous and involved.

Live an unexpected life.